


When the Walls Come Down (You'll Know I'm Here to Stay)

by Angel_of_Mysteries



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Monster Falls, Billdip Week, College AU, M/M, Parent AU, Pirate AU, siren au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-16 23:29:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4644111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_of_Mysteries/pseuds/Angel_of_Mysteries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billdip Week 2015 submissions <3</p><p>WEEK ONE:<br/>Day One: First Kiss<br/>Day Two: Monster Falls *no fic, cause I did a piece of art*<br/>Day Three: Writer's Choice - College AU<br/>Day Four: Parent AU<br/>Day Five: Magic Lessons<br/>Day Six: Pirate and/or Siren AU<br/>Day Seven: Writer's Choice II</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Start of Something Good

“I’m really sorry,” Wright apologized, his gaze not quite meeting Dipper’s. “We used to have something, and I’ll always cherish what we _did_ have, but… I can’t do this anymore.”

“I-” Dipper’s voice cracked on the word, and he blinked back tears. “I understand.”

“So, uhm...here,” Wright continued, taking off the sweater he was wearing. “I’ve really grown attached to this, but it’s yours. And if we’re going to - to break up, then it’s only fair that I give this back.”

“Right,” Dipper whispered. He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked rapidly to clear his blurring vision. “I’ll...I’ll give you back your shirt sometime this weekend.”

Wright nodded once, his expression shifting to one of regret. “I’m sorry it had to end this way,” he said softly as he took a step back. “I need to go now, Dipper. I’ll… see you around.”

“See you,” Dipper breathed, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. He waited until the younger teen was gone before he set his badge down on the counter and sent a quick text to Mabel.

Once he was sure that his shift in the Mystery Shack’s gift shop was covered, he fled outside, headed to the once place he’d always been able to find comfort and security in. He slowed his steps to a walk as he reached the treeline, entering the woods after a moment’s pause. The sounds of his sanctuary soothed him, and here he’d always found that he could let out all of his emotions without the worry of any of his family members asking what was wrong.

“What’s shakin, Pine Tree?” a sudden, obnoxiously annoying voice questioned, signaling the appearance of the town’s resident dream demon.

“Go away Bill,” Dipper muttered forlornly, kicking a small rock. He didn’t need to look to know that the triangle-turned-human was hovering behind him with his usual shit-eating grin in place.

A brief moment of silence followed his words, and then the demon spoke again.

“What’s your malfunction? You’re normally more cheerful than this, if I can call your normal face that. You’re not as fun to play with when you’re like this, you know.”

Dipper gritted his teeth, refusing to rise to the bait. “I told you to go away.”

“I can’t do that~!” Bill sang cheerfully. “You dumb meatsacks bound me to these woods, so I can pester you as long as you’re in here!” The demon’s tone suddenly turned more serious, and it was almost enough to make Dipper turn to face him.

“Look, Pine Tree. I don’t know if you know this or not - probably not, because meatsacks are literally the stupidest animals on this giant ball of mass and gases, but hey - I try to give you a little credit at least!”

Dipper sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes despite the tears. “Is there a point to this?”

“Course there is! I used to have three of them, actually! Tit for tat, I don’t like it when you’re not in the mood to be played with. It makes my efforts as pointless as this body is, and puts it all to waste! So, why don’tcha make your sound box tell me what’s eating at you?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Dipper grumbled. Amazingly enough, if Bill’s tactic was to make him happy enough to at least attempt his normal banter, it was beginning to work.

“Better me than your sister, right?” Bill asked, his tone shifting to a more ominous one for a millisecond. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want her knowing what’s going on.”

 _She already knows,_ Dipper thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. He decided to humor the demon, though. If anything, maybe Bill would give Wright a few nightmares for a laugh.

_No, Dipper. Bad thoughts, Dipper. He doesn’t deserve that._

“My boyfriend broke up with me today,” he finally said, trying his best to sound casual.

“What’s that?”

This time, Dipper _did_ stop in his tracks, and he whipped around to see a look of genuine confusion drawn across the demon’s expression.

“How can you _not_ know what a boyfriend is?” he asked incredulously, his bad mood almost completely forgotten in the shock of Bill’s newest revelation. “You said a million and a half times that you know everything, but you don’t know what a boyfriend is?”

Bill looked uncomfortable, and it showed in the way he shifted his position slightly, a tell of uneasiness. “I know _lots_ of things,” he refuted indignantly. “Shooting Star used to mention multiple ones quite frequently in your adolescence.” For a moment, Dipper swore that he saw the demon blush. “But I don’t actually know what one is. And how could you ‘break up’? You were never attached to another meatsack. Trust me, I would have noticed that.”

Dipper’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He understood the demon’s assumption a moment later, and scrambled to fix it. “We weren’t actually attached,” he explained. “Breaking up is another way of saying that we aren’t together anymore.”

“So he was your mate?”

Dipper resisted the urge to facepalm, instead opting to keep his cool. Worst case comes to absolute worst case, Bill would learn something today.

“It’s more than that,” he elaborated, his voice softening as he thought out his answer. “A boyfriend is more than someone you just….mate with. He’s someone that you normally feel intense things for, but in a good way. Like… you’d do anything for him, no matter the consequences. Whenever you see him smile, it’s the best thing in the world because seeing him happy makes you happy for some odd reason. Whenever he’s sad, you’d do whatever it took to make him happy again. And when he walks into the room, it’s like life suddenly just got a million times better. He’s more than just opportunity to you, he’s your best friend and confidante. He’s-”

“Does that make you mine?” Bill interrupted, sounding more confused than he had before.

“R-repeat that?” Dipper squeaked, his eyes widening marginally, a blush settling over his cheeks. Surely Bill hadn’t just insinuated what Dipper thought he had… right?

Bill’s eye flashed cyan for a second, his expression changing to one of annoyance. “Does that make you my boyfriend?” he repeated extra slowly, as if Dipper were stupid.

Dipper averted his gaze, stumbling over words for a few minutes while he tried to think of a way to kindly explain to Bill that no, they were not going out.

“We aren’t dating,” he said at last, running a hand through his hair to conceal how shaky it was. “Boyfriends go on dates and stuff. They do things together.”

“What do you think this is?!” Bill cried dramatically, gesturing at their surroundings. “We do this together!”

Dipper facepalmed then. “No, you’re not getting it. I mean, yeah, we go on mystery hunts and walks together in here, but this isn’t - what I mean to say is that we do all of this as friends.”

Bill made a small noise of frustration as he threw his hands up into the air. “That’s not making any sense either Pine Tree! From what you were telling me, you’re my boyfriend! Unless that was _a lie?_ ”

Dipper blinked once, trying to comprehend what Bill was saying. They definitely _weren’t_ going out, and by no means was he the demon’s boyfriend. Unless…

 _Oh._ Bill was… Bill liked him. That’s what he was trying to say, in an odd sense. Dipper had described what a relationship was, and Bill…

“Do you like me?” Dipper blurted out, surprise flitting over his features.

“Of course I do!” Bill exclaimed, still looking mildly annoyed. “I’ve been saying that for years kid, why do you have to question it every other week?”

“No.” Dipper said firmly, taking a small step toward the demon. “I mean, do you _like_ me? As in, do you feel… things for me? Like - like what I was telling you about?”

An eyebrow lifted. “If I do?” Bill challenged, though his tone held none of his usual spite.

“I…” Dipper stuttered, his mind going momentarily blank. “You… there’s no way you can - that you can feel. You’re a demon.”

“I think we’ve established that a long time ago,” Bill drawled. his eyes narrowing slightly. “That doesn’t mean that this meat suit doesn’t pressure me to live like one of you mortals, or that it hasn’t developed the capability of feeling.”

Dipper shook his head in denial of what Bill was saying to him. “No….no no no, this can’t be happening. Not today…”

“Pine Tree.”

“I mean, you’re a demon! You’re immortal, and I’m….I’m gonna _die_ eventually Bill! I-We can’t-”

“Piney-”

“-and I _just_ got out of-”

“Dipper!”

He had barely enough time to look up before the demon’s lips clashed against his, the force of it making him stumble backward a step. Another moment passed, and then Bill was stepping back from him, his breathing harsh and ragged. Dipper gazed back at him, too stunned to even attempt to catch his breath for the time being.

“Does _that_ explain anything?” Bill asked huskily, his tongue darting out to swipe at his lips. The blonde studied Dipper for a moment. “You have blood on your lip.”

Dipper licked his lips nervously and sure enough, he tasted the iron tang of blood.  

“I know that things are complicated right now,” Bill continued, stepping up to Dipper again  and taking one of the brunet’s hands in both of his. “But honestly, complicated is a part of who you are. And I know that it’s gonna take some time for you to get over that ba- uh, your old boyfriend. but this flesh suit of mine doesn’t seem to care about that. And I don’t either. The thing about us immortals is, is that years for you are like minutes for us. So really, I can wait. I want to.”

“Bill….” Dipper breathed, his expression softening. He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t care at the moment.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” Bill admitted. “The thing is, I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but I have been. Becoming a human might not have been my best moment in my career for world domination, but it’s given me more than it’s taken. Point is, I feel that strong affection for you that you were talking about, and I wanna try to see where it takes me. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but I think I love not knowing.” The demon paused for a moment to study Dipper’s reactions, then continued. “Human mating rituals are… weird, to say the least. It involves a lot more effort than normal animal ones do. But do you wish to participate?”

Dipper blinked a few times, releasing the few tears that had built up. _Is… is he asking me out?_

Bill sighed in what sounded like relief. “Yes, Pine Tree. I am ‘asking you out’, as you put it. I don’t know how these rituals work, but you can teach me.”

“If I even agree,” Dipper said, trying to take control of the situation.

Bill bit his lip, and for a moment he almost looked _worried._ “Will you?” he asked, keeping his gaze steady with Dippers.

Dipper thought for a moment, then nodded. “It won’t be right away,” he warned. “Maybe in a week or two, once I’ve had some time to get over Wright.”

A wide smile broke out over the demon’s face. “That’s fine Pine Tree.”

“I should get going,” Dipper mumbled, looking down at the ground and scuffing his feet. “Mabel’s probably wondering why I left the gift shop so suddenly.”

“I’ll see you later?” Bill asked anxiously.

Dipper nodded again, turning to walk back to the shack. He’d only made it a few steps before he stopped in his tracks and whirled around to face Bill, who was watching him.

“And Bill? …Thank you.”

A nod.

“Anything for you, Pine Tree.”


	2. Called Out in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pretty late, and I apologize for that. Been in a funk lately, and it's just now trying to clear away. Nonetheless, these prompts will be completed.

Bill Cipher hated a lot of things about college.

He hated having to wake up early to get to class on time, and the shitty stale coffee they kept in library. He hated how everything was overpriced, and how eating for an entire month tended to take up most of the meager paycheck the corner deli gave him. He hated the heavy textbooks and the way his professors would drone on endlessly about whatever they were trying to teach. But more than anything, he hated the stupid apartment building he lived in.

He was situated on the third floor of the building and absolutely detested having to walk up the godforsaken steps every single goddamn day. The small area he’d been calling home for just over a month smelled _horrible_ (his guess was that the person before him had been both a whore _and_ a pot smoker), and to top off the list of things he hated, half the appliances in the place didn’t even work.

The stove, he could live without. Fast food was invented for a reason. The toilet in the bathroom acting up? An annoyance, but he could deal. Not having a light in his room?

Abso-fucking-lutely unacceptable

“Why. Wont. You Work?” Bill droned, flicking the light switch between the _on_ and _off_ with each word. He banged his head against the wall once, then let it rest there in defeat.

After a moment, he turned off the flashlight he’d been using and retreated back to the kitchen to see if there was anything edible in his fridge, or if that had gone out, too. In the end, he ordered a small pizza.

Most of his night was spent investigating the stupid light fixture in between studying and slowly chewing his way through his grease-covered pizza dinner. He finally gave up sometime around one in the morning and went to bed.

Tomorrow, he decided, as he stared up into the black void around him. Tomorrow the situation would get resolved.

 

The next day in Comprehensive Lit, it wasn’t the teacher’s ‘fascinating’ lecture that caught his attention, but the voice of another student.

Dipper Pines, supposedly. Bill had never seen a point to learning or remembering who his fellow classmates were, but he’d heard a thing or two about the kid with the stars across his forehead.

“-and I swear, the damn thing kept flicking my light on and off last night!” Dipper complained to his twin sister, Mabel. “I mean, it’s all chill if it wants to haunt me and shit, but I need sleep.”

“Sounds like a personal problem to me,” she snarked back cheerfully. “For one, you’re the one who invited the dumb thing into the house. For another, since when do you sleep?”

“That’s besides the point,” the male twin grumbled. “I fucking woke up late and got griped at for missing Chem.”

His sister hummed thoughtfully. “Have you gotten any of that fancy paranormal techy stuff yet?”

“Not yet,” came Dipper’s quiet response. “It should be in by the end of the week, and then I’ll find out what kind of ghost thinks it’s funny to torment college students until the end of the witching hour.”

Bill refrained from turning back to look at the Pines twins, but their conversation sparked an idea in his mind.

He didn’t touch the forsaken light switch for the rest of the week.

 

The next Monday when Bill walked into Comp Lit, he began seeking out Dipper Pines unconsciously before he realized what he was doing and marched over to his seat with a huff. There was no point in trying to find the mysterious brunet so early before class started. If anything, Bill would get lucky enough to overhear him talking to his sister again.

Sure enough, Dipper and Mabel both walked in a few minutes later. They were whispering harshly to one another, and though he couldn’t immediately make out what they were saying, it sounded like they were arguing.

“I’m pretty sure it _isn’t_ a ghost, Dipper.” The female Pines twin told her brother as they reached the two desks they normally occupied. “You swept through the apartment at odd intervals at five different random times last night like the booklet said, and all the results turned up negative.”

“It has to be though,” Dipper murmured, and Bill smirked at the frustrated tone of his voice. “There’s no other explanation for this!”

“I’m sure there is,” Mabel encouraged as the teacher walked in. “You just haven’t found it yet.”

She fell silent as the class began, and they didn’t speak for the rest of the class period. Which was a good thing, in all honesty. Bill’s grade wasn’t exactly suffering, but there was a test coming up in the next week and it wouldn’t do for him to get a bad grade because he was caught up in the drama of his classmates.

 _Still,_ he pondered as he left the class a good hour and a half later. _Testing the theory’s gonna be fun._

 

And fun it was. After a night spent waking up at odd intervals and studying for a few minutes and then flicking the light switch, he walked into his Comp. Lit class with a wide smile on his face despite the fact that he’d gotten less than his perfect five hours of rest.

Dipper, on the other hand, looked much worse for wear than he had when Bill had caught sight of his face the day before. Now, though…

He was in the class way ahead of time which was surprising enough on its own, his head cradled in his hands. Mabel was in her spot next to him, looking much more awake and happily scribbling away in a notebook. From what Bill could see as he approached their table, it looked like she was sketching clothing. Plausible, considering that Mabel wore handmade sweaters all the time.

“Good morning,” he said to the female Pines twin as he took his seat, careful to keep his face neutral. “Is your brother okay?”

“He’s fine,” Mabel dismissed cheerfully, glancing up to smile at him. “There’s something wonky going on with his apartment’s lighting, so he hasn’t been getting much sleep.”

“Understandable,” Bill replied politely with a small nod. “I think I heard you guys talking about that the other day, actually.”

Mabel giggled then, rolling her eyes and returning to her sketch. “Dipper thinks that he has a ghost or something. Bought fancy shit to test the theory and everything.”

“I don’t think it’s a ghost.” Bill allowed himself to let out a short laugh. “Maybe it’s another student?”

Mabel’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she remained focused on her sketch. “That’s an interesting perspective. How do you think the student would do it?”

“Not sure,” he answered conversationally, glancing at the sleeping form of Dipper. “Perhaps the building has faulty wiring or something? It’s not exactly the best place to live in.”

Mabel perked up at his statement. “So wait, you live in the Geary Apartments too?”

He nodded. “Yeah, and half the appliances don’t work half the time.”

“You should totally come over for dinner sometime,” Mabel suggested lightly. “Our apartment is mostly okay, save for the light in Dipper’s room. My name’s Mabel, by the way. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of myself and Dipper from the other students because of how quickly word travels here, but I thought a proper introduction was in order.”

“The name’s Bill Cipher,” he drawled with a small smirk. “Formally William, but I hate the damn name. Bill has a nicer ring to it, don’tcha think?”

Mabel nodded her agreement as the class started and Bill turned to his own desk, content to leave her to work in peace.

_Theory’s tested and true… now to give the hint._

 

Bill thought for the rest of the week about how he was going to let the male Pines twin know that it was another person that was making the light go wonky, without actually letting the teen know that it was him. Finally, he decided.

 _Dipper,_ he wrote onto a blank piece of notebook paper.

_I see all. I know all, and I know about your little nightly problem. You’ve spent countless hundreds trying to resolve it, to no avail. I can tell you what I know, but for a price. You think it’s a ghost that’s been messing with the light in your bedroom. I know for a fact that it’s another student. Here’s what you’re going to pay me in exchange for the answer to who did it. Solve this._

He scribbled down an extremely complicated math equation that he had memorized from his years of academic team, then added an extra line.

_I’ll be watching you, Dipper Pines._

He debated on whether or not to sign the note. Obviously not with his name because Mabel kind of knew him, but he wanted _something_ to testify his mad geniousness. Finally, inspiration struck and he quickly scrawled out a triangle with the eye in the middle.

Now, to leave the note…

 

After discreetly slipping the note under the door of the apartment he was sure Dipper occupied, Bill waited. The math problem, if Dipper solved it correctly, would turn out to be the number of Bill’s apartment, thus giving him the answer to all of his problems.

Not that Bill was intentionally messing with the teen’s light. If he had a choice in the matter, he’d make the problem go away or reroute the electricity back into his own room because dammit, he was tired of constantly being in the dark.

He reckoned it would take Dipper a few good several hours, if not days, to figure out the answer to his riddle, probably even longer for him to figure out the significance of it.

What he didn’t consider, however, was the fact that he’d told Mabel that it was probably a student causing Dipper’s problems. Hell, he knew that the twins were close (always had been, always will be) but he so foolishly didn’t think that anything he said to the female Pines would come back around in such a negative manner.

Not an hour after he slipped the note under what he assumed to be Dipper’s apartment, there came a loud and angry sounding knock on the door.

For a split second, he was torn between answering the door, or leaving it be to see what the person would do. The first option would fulfill his curiosity’s questions about Dipper Pines, but the second would more than likely amuse him to no end.

His curiosity finally won out over his desire to be entertained, and he found himself walking over to the door before he could think of what to say. That small conflict was resolved however, when he opened the door to see a red faced and pissed off looking Dipper Pines standing in his threshold.

He burst out laughing.

“I know what you did,” Dipper Pines seethed in a low tone of voice, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“You caught me!” Bill cackled, wiping away a stray tear that had formed from laughing so hard. “Give me this though, kid - how did you figure it out so quickly?”

“I have my sources,” Dipper replied, clearly not amused by Bill’s spectacle. “You’d be surprised how easy the security footage is to hack. And that equation, by the way? Figured that out within a few minutes. It was something I studied for the SAT.”

“I’m impressed!” Bill complimented, stepping to the side and opening the door wider so the the younger teen could enter. “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be so smart!”

“And I had you pegged as the idiotic freshman party-goer, but looks like we were both wrong,” Dipper retorted, striding right on in. “Now fix the fucking light in my room before I have you arrested for trespassing or some shit.”

“You’re the one in my home, but sure thing,” Bill drawled with a smirk. “And I hate to tell you this, but I’m not the one who rewired the light switch.”

“I know plenty of cops, and they’re- wait, what? Y-You have to be,” Dipper stammered, looking unsure of himself for the first time. “The note-”

“-was just a ploy for you to figure out the source of your problems,” Bill dismissed, waving his hand at the brunet. “And I lied a little. Point is, it’s not something I can fix.”

His last sentence left Dipper dumbstruck, and he used the silence to continue with his explanation. “See, I moved into this place about a month ago, and half the shit in the place doesn’t work. My bedroom light included.”

“So wait.” The words flowed from Dipper’s mouth in such a way that it made Bill bite his lip to hold back a small smile. “You… you live here.”

“I do,” Bill cut in, finally allowing himself to smirk. “This is a fact, Dipper Pines.”

Dipper shook his head, waving away his words. “Your bedroom light doesn’t work, and mine comes on at odd hours of the night. You’ve been somehow controlling my light switch.”

“Not your switch,” Bill explained, gesturing to their surroundings. “I have this kind of theory - everything in this apartment building is shit, obviously. So….maybe the dumb fucks that designed this building accidentally wired our rooms wrong?”

“That makes more sense than just about anything else right now,” Dipper conceded after a few moments. Then it was as if the brunet was just noticing where he was, and a rosy colored blush dusted his cheeks. “I should probably go now. I’m… I’ll call an electric company or something so they can get all this sorted out.”

“Sure thing.” Bill grinned, holding out a hand for the brunet to shake. “The name’s Bill Cipher, and I wish I could say it was nice to meet you.”

“Do you have any idea how much sleep you’ve cost me?” Dipper asked, pointedly ignoring the hand in favor of jabbing Bill in the chest with his index finger. “I failed a test and several assignments because you thought it would be fun to mess with me!”

Bill rolled his eyes and held his hands up in mock surrender. “Forgive me,” he drawled. “Though, really - I didn’t prevent you from studying or doing your homework. And _I_ was just trying to figure out how to make my light work.”

“Yeah right,” Dipper muttered, turning to leave.

“Wait!” Bill called out before he could stop himself. Dipper turned back to glare at him, crossing his arms impatiently.

_“What?”_

“I like you, kid,” Bill told the brunet, smiling. “Do you want to hang out sometime? I hear that you like paranormal things, and it’s something I’ve been meaning to check out. You know, granted I have someone with me that knows what they’re talking about. You seem like you do.”

Dipper hesitated for a moment, his facial expression shifting to one of slight surprise. He uncrossed his arms and just kind of stood there awkwardly for several moments without saying anything. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, then. Saturday, at the park at 3:00. Don’t be late, because I won’t be there if you are.”

“Hold up - how come you get to pick the time and place?”

An eyebrow lifted in challenge. “You’ve been fucking with me the past few weeks, I assume, on purpose. It’s my right.”

“Fine,” Bill allowed. “I’ll see you in class, Dipper.”

The younger teen turned to leave again, flicking his hand up in what looked like some weird kind of wave. “See you around Cipher.”

Bill waited until Dipper was gone to shut the door, cackling softly to himself.

It was a date.

Dipper Pines just didn’t know it yet.


	3. To the Ends of the Earth

Fall. Swirling colorful leaves, chilly nights, mugs of cocoa topped with marshmallows and whipped cream. Howling wind and cozy movie nights in front of the fire.

For the past few years, the holiday had been ridiculously easy. Bill’s and Dipper’s adopted nymph daughter, Lila, normally was taken trick or treating for a little while, and then the three of them would retreat home. They’d tuck Lila into bed with some horrendously cheesy Disney movie playing softly on her television, then retreat to the living room for a horror movie marathon that usually ended in them cuddling more than paying attention to whatever movie was playing.

As it was, this year was a bit different.

“Make sure that she doesn’t accidentally use any of her powers,” Dipper reminded Bill as he carefully laced spiders throughout the cotton cobweb strewn across their front door in the glow of the setting sun. “And don’t you dare let the gnomes get too close to her again, or god so help me-”

I was distracted last year,” Bill dismissed, wrapping his arms around Dipper’s waist and laying his chin down on the brunet’s shoulder. “That situation was hardly my fault.”

“Either way, make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Dipper chided gently, leaning into his husband’s embrace. “Or I’ll have to kill you.”

Bill chuckled lowly, leaning down to press his lips against Dipper’s neck, eliciting a small sigh from the brunet. “I wouldn’t dream of you doing something like that,” he murmured against the skin. “But sure.”

“Speaking of, where is Lila anyway?” Dipper asked, somewhat breathlessly, a hint of warning in his tone.

“Relax babe,” Bill breathed out against his neck, biting down gently. “She’s taking a bath right now. Should be done soon. I told her she wasn’t allowed to go trick or treating unless she was clean.”

Dipper rolled his eyes, exhaling shakily. “That’s cruel,” he commented, letting out a breathy laugh. “You and I both know Lila’s a perfectly clean kid.”

Bill shrugged, stepping away from Dipper after pressing a final kiss to his cheek. “It’s a good mindset to instill in a kid, though. I read it on the internet.”

“Bill…” Dipper sighed, picking up a fairly large plastic spider from the box and weaving it into the cobweb. “You can’t trust everything you find on the internet.”

“I know,” Bill hummed contently. Dipper glanced behind him to see that the demon’s cerulean eye was glowing a bright gold. “Lila’s done with her bath. She’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Dipper couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he returned his focus to decorating. “You shouldn’t spy on our daughter,” he chastised. “She likely enjoys her privacy, and I know I didn’t like it when you did that when I was a kid.”

“Age gap,” Bill reminded him. “She’s also a lot younger than you were. Therefore, she needs the extra protection.”

“Whatever you say,” Dipper muttered, despite the small smile that played at his lips.

Even though he’d been reluctant to take on the Flora Nymph as a daughter almost five years ago, he’d come to love her as his own. He and Bill had their fair share of trials and tribulations when it came to taking care of a magical creature, but all in all… he wouldn’t trade her for all the secrets of the universe.

“I’m ready!” A cheerful young voice announced from the bottom of the stairs. For a minute, the only sound Bill and Dipper could hear was the rhythmic _thump_ of her feet against the wood floor as she ran into the Shack’s gift shop.

Their daughter had left off the necklace that concealed her true appearance, her light green skin sticking out against the ridiculously poofy pink dress she wore. A plastic crown was tangled in her curly purple hair, and she’d smeared makeup all over her face.

Dipper sent Bill a small glare, though he smiled at their daughter. _This is all your doing,_ his eyes told the demon, but his voice was kind when he spoke to Lila. “You make a very gorgeous princess, sweetie.”

Bill snorted. “Lying is unbecoming of you Pine Tree. Kid, you’re a mess.”

 _“Bill!”_ Dipper hissed, but it was already too late. Lila’s lower lip wobbled and her eyes filled with tears. He wanted to comfort their daughter, but this was Bill’s mistake to fix. The demon had to learn good parenting skills someday, right?

“Ah-” Bill stuttered, his eyes widening marginally. He walked over to Lila and crouched down so he was at eye-level with her, attempting a small smile. “What I mean to say is… uh… human princesses are overrated. Wouldn’t you like to be a real one for tonight?”

“I-I thought I _was_ a real princess,” Lila sniffled, rubbing at one of her eyes.

Dipper bit his lip, cringing at how terrible Bill was at this. “What Bill _really_ means to say,” he spoke up, stepping forward to crouch down next to Bill, “is that you are true royalty, and he wants you to be able to show off. There’s going to be a million Sleeping Beauties out there tonight, but you’d be the only nymph queen. How cool would that be?”

Though her eyes were still wet, Lila managed a bright smile and the sight of it warmed Dipper’s heart. A moment later, it faded. “H-how can I be a nymph queen though?” she asked in despair. “I don’t even know-”

“I can help you with that,” Bill interrupted gently, taking one of their daughter’s hands in his own. “I’m friends with a lot of creatures, so I know everything about them.”

Bill and Lila retreated from the gift shop and went back upstairs, and Dipper took that as his cue to finish decorating. He spent the next hour doing just that and mentally figuring out where he was going to place the candy bowl, all while keeping an ear out for Bill’s and Lila’s return.

Bill came into the gift shop first, his expression bright and grin as wide as could be. “She looks gorgeous,” he boasted in a whisper, coming to a stop when he was beside Dipper.

Lila stepped in shyly a moment after him. She really did look beautiful, in the way that only a nymph could. Her hair was still as unruly as ever, but the plastic crown was gone and replaced with flowers that Bill had delicately weaved through her hair. The makeup had also been washed off (thankfully), and her face held a natural glow that cosmetics could never hope to replicate. She wore a light yellow sundress and her feet were bare.

“You look gorgeous,” Dipper commented, glancing at Bill. _What about shoes?_ he mouthed, frowning slightly at his husband. For an all-knowing demon, Bill was dense as bricks sometimes.

Bill shook his head in way of response. “Are you ready to go?” he asked Lila, holding out a hand for their daughter to take.

She nodded, running forward. Instead of taking Bill’s hand however, she wrapped her arms around Dipper’s legs in a tight hug. “Bye daddy!” She squealed, her tone rising in excitement.

Dipper laughed and reached down to pick her up, cradling her for just a moment. Even though it was only for an evening, he was going to miss her terribly. He placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead. “Stay with your father,” he instructed in a murmur. “And don’t go running off this year.”

He set her back down on the ground, and she nodded excitedly and took Bill’s hand. Bill met his worried gaze with his own reassuring one, a lopsided smile playing at his lips. “She’ll be okay.”

And as they set off for an evening of trick-or-treating, Dipper couldn’t help but think of how far he and Bill had come since taking Lila in, the struggles and triumphs they had experienced while raising her.

He smiled, knowing that Bill would keep their daughter safe, no matter what his words or actions said otherwise. Because when he thought about it, Bill would fight his way through hell and back before he would give Lila up.

And really, so would he.


End file.
